I’m streamlining my blogging life. After almost 3 years it just had to be done. While my focus has changed a bit, I have also realized that with a new direction, I need to weed out the stuff that wasn’t going to help me get there.
1. Twitter. There are a number of sites that help you weed out the undesirables. While having a ton of followers might seem like a good idea, there is no way I can keep up with following everyone back. I have spent the last few weeks un-following anybody who is a bot, hasn’t tweeted in over 30 days, doesn’t post anything but spam links, and many, many companies that I really have no reason to follow. If I un-followed you, it was probably a mistake (I do make them once or twice) so just let me know and we’ll correct that injustice. One of the sites I like to use is TwitCleaner.
2. Facebook. I realize that un-liking or un-friending someone is a little harsh at times, but there are still ways to clean up my Facebook feed. It is really easy to just “hide” the people/businesses you still want to keep around, but don’t really need to see every day. It makes my feed way more manageable and I get more chance to read the posts of the people I really do like.
3. Reader. My Google Reader is always evolving. I have a hard time keeping up with a million blogs (although I do try and set aside time each week to check out as many as possible). Since I am always adding new blogs to my reader, I try and go through the entire list every few months and delete the blogs that no longer interest me or ones that haven’t had a post on them in a few months. And here’s a tip… if you decide to give up blogging, please at least write one last post telling us WHY you are giving it up. For some of us who get pretty invested in your story, we imagine all kinds of horrible things happening to you when you drop off the internet completely.
4. Blogger Business Sites. These are those company sites that you belong to because they have promised that if you join their network they will get you blogging business. I tend to join all of them in the hopes that some fabulous opportunities will come my way. But… I realize that it’s just way too much. Most of them I’ve never received anything from. Some of them I get opps that really don’t apply to me anymore. I have slowly been going through all these sites and deleting my name from them. I would much rather stick with 2 or 3 that I respect and really DO offer me some amazing blogger opportunities. Adding your name to every list out there just means your email in-box will be forever cluttered.
5. Blog. I love my blog design. Always have, always will. But… I realize that everything needs to evolve at some point and that means my design too. I’m really hoping to re-invent my blog within the next few months so don’t be surprised if you start seeing some weird changes. My fabulous blog designer is no longer in business (sad face) so I’m left to my own devices. That can be pretty scary considering I have no idea what I’m doing. If you know anything about using Thesis and WordPress, help is always welcome (hint hint).
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I just started going through twitter and facebook this week. Reached a point where I couldn’t get to the infor I wanted! thanks for the reminder
Meghan @ Crazy Casa K recently posted..What are your favorite activities for your patio or balcony? {Giveaway}
You’re welcome. I think sometimes we are so focused on amassing followers that we forget the true beauty of social media is interacting with those followers.
I’m happy to help with Thesis if you need it.
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Thanks. I guess I just need to take a chance and see what happens when I start to change some things. If you get an urgent message from me you’ll know I really screwed it all up.
I have been trying to delete blogs off my reader for months now, but they never seem to disappear. I have had to clean up my facebook feed a few times. Sometimes I impulsively follow someone and regret it later. It’ so impossible to read everythign you want to, especially when all of the stuff you don’t want to read is in the way! Looking forward to seeing how you change your blog.
I done this a bit; but I guess I’m just afraid to delete/hide/unfriend from Face Book. I don’t know why; I sure don’t want to be like that girl in the car commercial who has 657 friends (on line) and can’t figure out if she’s looking at a puppy??
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I just did a big clean up on the Google Reader too. I felt bad clicking that “unfollow this blog” button, but honestly: if you haven’t written a post in over 6 months, I doubt you are missing me much at all. It was tempting to flush out all the review and giveaway sites - I rarely see a thought provoking or personal post from those bloggers - plus, they never seem to return the visits or comments. Not exactly the type of interaction I am looking for. As for the Book and the Twit, I am rarely there; it’s just too much to keep with. I find I will be on quite a bit for a couple of days, and then I stay away for a couple of days.
In the middle of my own blog renovation myself, but I am blogger so can’t help much with WPress/Thesis. I do use a lot of Wordpress “hacks” to style my blogger template though (it really is quite limited in what you can do.)
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All wise choices! I commend you!